Space industry of Scotland

Clyde Space made Scotland's first satellite, the UKube-1, which was launched on the Russian Soyuz-2 rocket in 2013
First Minister Humza Yousaf meets with executives from Space Scotland, the country's national space agency

In May 2021, the Space industry of Scotland consisted of 173 space companies operating across Scotland.[1] These include spacecraft manufacturers, launch providers, downstream data analyzers, and research organisations.[2] Space Scotland, the country's space agency, said that the space industry in Scotland contributes in excess of £4 billion to the Scottish economy.[3]

Recognised as a European leader in space technology, Scotland builds more satellites than any other European country.[4] Space Scotland claim that this is possible due to "entreprenerialism, technical expertise in miniturisation of satellites and support from Scottish universities".[5] Scotland's space industry, and its agency, Space Scotland, contribute research and project to other agencies, including NASA and the European Space Agency.[6]

In 2017/18 it was estimated that the space industry in Scotland employed approximately 8,000 people with an annual growth rate of 12% between 2013 and 2018.[7] London Economics published a report projecting £2billion in income for Scotland's space cluster by 2030.[8] Scottish space industry jobs represent almost 1 in 5 of all UK space industry employment.[9]

  1. ^ "More than 3,000 jobs created as space sector grows across the UK". GOV.UK.
  2. ^ "Boldly going towards the new age of space". HeraldScotland.
  3. ^ "About Us". www.spacescotland.org. Space Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. ^ "About Us". www.spacescotland.org. Space Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  5. ^ "About Us". www.spacescotland.org. Space Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  6. ^ "About Us". www.spacescotland.org. Space Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  7. ^ "A Strategy for Space In Scotland" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "The Scottish Space Cluster Executive Summary May 2020" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "Manufacturing: Space sector - gov.scot". www.gov.scot.